On Sunday, the No. 22 Auburn Tigers suffered a tough, one-point loss to the No. 1 Houston Cougars. Both teams made it to the Final Four last year, although the Cougars had far more than only one player from last year's squad return for the 2025-26 season.
Not only are the Tigers an almost completely new team this season, but they're also adjusting to having Steven Pearl as the official head coach. Still, Pearl's remarks following the close loss show that despite the coaching change the expectations for Auburn basketball are remaining the same.